Sarah poses for a selfie, with a mural in the background that she painted on a shipping container.
COMMUNITY
BUILDERS
Sarah Johnson Winona, MN Sarah Johnson founded The Joy Labs, where she experiments with joy and art, and builds community. BY SARA WALTERS
“T
he magic of community engaged art is the community engagement,” says Sarah Johnson, owner and operator of The Joy Labs in Winona, Minnesota. “It is always so exciting to see what evolves as community members create together.” Creating collaborative art is the premise of The Joy Labs, which Sarah started in November 2021, mid-way through the pandemic. During this time, Sarah often relied on the mantra, “Anything is Possible,” as a reminder that one should always be prepared for anything – positive outcomes, and negative ones, too. “I’ve found that living in possibility, while at times scary, is a place where it is possible to find joy even in the darkest of times,” she says. “Being alive and human is a complex thing, and I’ve found that embracing that complexity and the privilege of being fallible and mortal is living in joy.” Through The Joy Labs, Sara offers coaching, consultation, and creativity to individuals, organizations, and communities that would like to experience greater joy. Oftentimes, it’s the group effort that supports the most learning for those she serves, and brings Sara the most joy, too. “We find joy through play and experimentation, and for me, playing, connecting with others, creating, and color are the big joy factories,” she says. “The process is the point, and the outcome [work of art] is simply a bonus.” A very colorful, awe-inspiring bonus. Anyone viewing Sarah and 26
Fall 2022 / iloveinspired.com
team’s artwork – adorning fences, buildings, walls, doors, garages, and more – can see that joy is very present. “In my art I like to use vibrant colors and vibrant, welcoming messages,” she says. Sarah has facilitated a wide range of projects during her career. It’s hard for Sarah to pick a favorite, but one particularly “soul-fueling” project was with Our Voices, a group of local students of color, in the summer of 2020. “It was the first of many art projects together, finding solace in co-creation and the cadence that we’ve developed that vacillates between silent reverie and fits of giggles and silliness,” she explains. It was icing on the cake for her, and truly an impactful moment, when Sarah and Our Voices unveiled their “Hear Our Voices” mural in fall 2020, and the hundreds of present community members audibly gasped and then cheered for their work. “Creating together is community building, and these processes, too, generate light and lightness. We are better together, and art can be a bridge that illuminates that.” Sarah will never forget hearing and seeing the delight of hundreds of community members who contributed to the Fabric of Winona panels, unveiled in May 2022. This effort was coordinated with Project FINE, a local agency welcoming, providing support, empowerment, and advocacy for recent refugees or immigrants. Through this project, hundreds of community members, ages two to 80, helped create the panels, which are displayed outside of the Winona County History Center. And as exciting as the end result was,